Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
Area of Search | Somerset |
---|---|
Grid reference | ST705460 |
Coordinates | 51°12′45″N2°25′25″W / 51.21244°N 2.42371°W Coordinates: 51°12′45″N2°25′25″W / 51.21244°N 2.42371°W |
Interest | Biological |
Area | 140.6 ha (347 acres) |
Notification | 1963 |
Natural England website |
Asham Wood (grid reference ST705460 ) is a 140.6- hectare (347-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Downhead and south of Leigh-on-Mendip in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, notified in 1963.
Asham Wood is the largest and most diverse of the ancient semi-natural woods in the Mendips. It has a permanent stream that runs through it feeding Chantry Pond to the east of the wood. It has been the subject of controversy and attempts to protect the environment from increased quarrying activity in the area.
The wood occupies 2 deep valleys and the intervening plateau. Most of the underlying rocks are calcareous Carboniferous Limestone and Shales, but Devonian Portishead Beds outcrop along the northern valley. There are a range of unusual flora and fauna. [1]
At Asham Wood near Frome coppicing and 50 dormouse boxes have been introduced in order to encourage nesting. The boxes are monitored and dormice numbers are recorded. [2]
Cheddar is a large village and civil parish in the Sedgemoor district of the English county of Somerset. It is situated on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, 9 miles (14 km) north-west of Wells, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Weston-super-Mare and 18 miles (29 km) south-west of Bristol. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Nyland and Bradley Cross. The parish had a population of 5,755 in 2011 and an acreage of 8,592 acres (3,477 ha) as of 1961.
Somerset is a county in South West England which borders Gloucestershire and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east and Devon to the south-west. It is bounded to the north and west by the Severn Estuary and the Bristol Channel, its coastline facing southeastern Wales. Its traditional border with Gloucestershire is the River Avon. Somerset's county town is Taunton.
The Mendip Hills is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel in the west to the Frome valley in the east, the hills overlook the Somerset Levels to the south and the Chew Valley and other tributaries of the Avon to the north. The hills give their name to the local government district of Mendip, which administers most of the area. The higher, western part of the hills, covering 198 km2 (76 sq mi) has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), which gives it a level of protection comparable to a national park.
The East Somerset Railway is a 2 1⁄2-mile (4 km) heritage railway in Somerset, running between Cranmore and Mendip Vale. Prior to the Beeching Axe, the railway was once part of the former Cheddar Valley line that ran from Witham to Yatton, meeting the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway at Wells.
St Cuthbert Out, sometimes Wells St Cuthbert Out, is a civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. It entirely surrounds the city and parish of Wells. According to the 2011 census it had a population of 3,749.
Somerset is a rural county in the southwest of England, covering 4,171 square kilometres (1,610 sq mi). It is bounded on the north-west by the Bristol Channel, on the north by Bristol and Gloucestershire, on the north-east by Wiltshire, on the south-east by Dorset, and on the south west and west by Devon. It has broad central plains with several ranges of low hills. The landscape divides into four main geological sections from the Silurian through the Devonian and Carboniferous to the Permian which influence the landscape, together with water-related features.
The Chew Valley is an affluent area in North Somerset, England, named after the River Chew, which rises at Chewton Mendip, and joins the River Avon at Keynsham. Technically, the area of the valley is bounded by the water catchment area of the Chew and its tributaries; however, the name Chew Valley is often used less formally to cover other nearby areas, for example, Blagdon Lake and its environs, which by a stricter definition are part of the Yeo Valley. The valley is an area of rich arable and dairy farmland, interspersed with a number of villages.
Emborough Quarries is a 1 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest at Emborough in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, notified in 1971.
Westbury-sub-Mendip is a village in Somerset, England, on the southern slopes of the Mendip Hills 4 miles (6.4 km) from Wells and Cheddar.
Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill is a 332.2 hectare (820.9 acre) geological and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the western end of the Mendip Hills, Somerset. The line of hills runs for approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from west to east and includes: Crook Peak, Compton Hill, Wavering Down, Cross Plain and Shute Shelve Hill. Most of the site is owned by the National Trust who bought 725 acres (293 ha) in 1985, and much of it has been designated as common land. It was notified as an SSSI by Natural England in 1952.
Draycott is a village in Somerset, England, neighbouring the village of Cheddar on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is now the larger village in the civil parish of Rodney Stoke.
Cook's Wood Quarry also known as Holcombe Quarry is a 0.8 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Stoke St Michael on the Mendip Hills in Somerset, notified in 1988.
Downhead is a village and civil parish close to Leigh-on-Mendip and 5 miles (8 km) north east of Shepton Mallet, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the medieval settlement of Tadhill.
Stoke St Michael is a village and civil parish on the Mendip Hills 4 miles (6.4 km) north east of Shepton Mallet, and 8 miles (12.9 km) west of Frome, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England.
Batts Combe quarry, grid reference ST460550 is a limestone quarry on the edge of Cheddar village on the Mendip Hills, Somerset, England.
The Mendip Hills, (Mendips) in northern Somerset, are the most southerly Carboniferous Limestone uplands in Britain.
Torr Works quarry, grid reference ST695446 is a limestone quarry at East Cranmore, near Shepton Mallet on the Mendip Hills, Somerset, England. The quarry was formerly known as Merehead, a name which has been retained for its rail depot on the opposite side of the A361 road.
The Mendip Way is an 80-kilometre (50 mi) long-distance footpath across the Mendip Hills from Weston-super-Mare to Frome. It is divided into two sections.
The Mells River flows through the eastern Mendip Hills in Somerset, England. It rises at Gurney Slade and flows east joining the River Frome at Frome.
The county of Somerset is in South West England, bordered by the Bristol Channel and the counties of Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, and Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south, and Devon to the west. The climate, influenced by its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and the prevailing westerly winds, tends to be mild, damp and windy.